A heightened sense of activity in your pet, whether this means that the animal is doing more swimming, basking, walking, or exploring, may cause you to wonder what caused this sudden increase in movement and vigor.
This article looks into why your turtle is more active than normal.
Table of Contents
Why is my turtle active?
Turles will behave in different ways depending on their environment, their health, outside influences, and internal influences, so if your pet is more active than normal then this is for good reason
Here is why your pet turtle may be more active than normal
Good environment:
If you’ve set up your pet’s environment to be comfortable, safe, and enjoyable for the turtle then your pet will use the space more.
If there is enough food then this will energize your pet to move around, if there is enough water then your pet will swim more, if there are ample hiding spaces spaces then your pet will use them.
These animals thrive in environments that are close to their natural habitat
What to do:
This is normal and is actually good for your turtle, this means that the space that you’ve created for the animal is optimal. You don’t have to do anything more in this case.
Looking for food:
If your turtle swims up to the glass of the tank when you come around then the animal may simply be looking for some food.
Your turtle may not do this when you aren’t around but it will do this at the first sight of you
If your pet does this then it likely associates you with getting food and gets excited and more active when you come around thinking that you will feed it.
What to do:
This is quite normal behavior for turtles and happens a lot. The animals don’t need to eat each time they beg, they are simply opportunistic feeders. Avoid overfeeding them if they beg
You can get them to stop begging you for food by feeding them using tongs and making sure that your face isn’t up against the glass when you feed the animals.
Females looking to lay:
If your turtle is a female, and you can’t seem to pin down the reason for the hyperactivity, then your pet may be pregnant, or more specifically, gravid.
Female turtles will carry eggs even if there is no male around to mate with, and she will want to lay them.
She will dig holes with her back legs and move around the enclosure trying to find the best spot to lay her eggs. She may even tip the tank over looking for spaces to lay.
What to do:
Providing your pet with a good laying ground is important. If these animals are unable to lay eggs they will become egg-bound and this can be fatal to the animal
Males looking for a mate:
Hormones associated with mating will cause the male turtles to become more active. During mating season the males in the wild will go out looking for mates
Turtles in your enclosure will go up and down the tank looking for mates. They will become more active and they will be more vocal during this breeding season.
What to do:
This is also normal behavior, just keep an eye on the animal during this time.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Turtle Acting Weird?, Why Is My Turtle Squeaking?, Why Is My Turtle Gagging?, Why Is My Turtle Pale?, Why Is My Turtle Pooping So Much?, Tortoise Left White Poop In Bath, Why Is My Turtle So Jumpy?, Why Is My Turtle Going In Circles?, Why Is My Turtle Always Begging For Food?